The invention relates to air bag safety restraint system for a vehicle, such as an automobile, and more particularly to an integral, modular, self-contained air bag system.
It has long been recognized that restraint systems in vehicles, such as automobiles, enhance passenger safety in collision situations. One such retraint system uses an inflatable air bag which inflages rapidly in an emergency situation, such as a crash, to provide a cushion between the occupant (driver or passenger) and the interior of the automobile to absorb the impact. While the effectiveness of air bags as a passive retraint has been amply demonstrated, air bags have not found general acceptance for use in automobiles because of overall costs of manufacture and installation and because of concerns about possible malfunction in which the air bag itself could cause an accident.
The present invention is directed to an improved air bag system which is a self-contained, integral, modular unit that can easily be mounted in the automobile, such as on the steering wheel or on the dash board. The system does not require a remote crash sensor, such as on the front bumper. The system requires no external connections between the unit and the electrical system of the automobile.
A self-contained air bag system of different design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,541 to Frazier and in patents cited during prosecution of the Frazier patent in the U.S. Patent Office. Generation of an inflating gas by a chemical reaction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,827,715 to Lynch; 3,895,823 to R. L. Stephenson; 3,891,233 to Damon; 3,733,180 to Hernect; and 3,618,980 and 3,618,981 to Leising. Sensors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,812,726; 3,688,063; RE 28,251 and 3,889,232 to L. Bell; 3,452,175; 3,452,309; 3,471,688; and 3,572,141 to D. Wilkes; and 3,567,881 to F. Dulmstra.